Parker Sibling Series Box Set

by Leigh Ann Lunsford

  Cambree dropped the bomb on us that she is going to UGA, and while Addison was appalled (she is my UF girl), we are all happy for her. Dustin seemed to take it in stride, but I know we have to keep more of an eye on him since he will be all alone next year.

  All the kids had a blast opening presents, and Colby about flipped his lid when his parents bought all the girls little cheerleading outfits. He still has issues with cheering and dancing, and he barely survived Brielle in those little outfits. I don’t see him letting his daughter wear those. I am in full agreement. I smiled, said thank you, and then started planning where those things were going to be misplaced. I think the fire pit outside tonight will be a good location, and I know I will have Colby’s full support.

  I ask my girl, “Together or marriage?” and when she turns and looks at me, she has a different look in her eye.

  “How about put a ring on it, and let me see how it feels again,” she says to me. She knows she just shocked the hell out of me and caught me off guard. She is trying her hardest not to laugh. Joke is on her.

  I drop to my knee and pull the ring out of my back pocket. It isn’t her old ring. I took that and made earrings for Shiloh and Cheyenne. This is a new ring, and I know she gets the meaning behind it. It is a beautiful diamond (typical engagement ring, but also their birthstones), and there are eleven amethysts surrounding it, one for each year I have loved her. I tell her, “If the band was big enough for each year I will love you, I would have filled it with stones. Since it isn’t, just know that each stone is worth an eternity of my love, and you will always have it.” I slip the ring on her finger and ask, “How does it fit?”

  She smiles down at me, “Perfectly, just like us.”

  I know I am pushing my luck, but I ask anyway, “Do you have a date in mind?”

  “Coffee?” she replies. I know that is her way of telling me to stop while I am ahead. Then she mumbles something about giving me an inch, and I will take a mile.

  I just laugh and wrap my arms around her, “Lil’ Bit, you love all the inches I give you. But you need to decide; and fast, because next time we have a child, it will be with you as my wife.”

  “Tyler, you want more kids?”

  “Yes. Why are you shocked, Addison?”

  She just shrugs. I know there are lingering doubts in her mind, and I get that. I understand, but I also know I want another child with her. I love my kids, but I want to experience everything with her this time. “Tyler, I just wasn’t sure that I wanted anymore. The two we have are a ton of work, and I don’t know that I could handle another one.”

  “Addison, you won’t be handling them alone. We can handle one more.” I make sure she gets my point that we are a team. She just nods. I know she isn’t there yet, but soon she will be. She was born to have kids, be a wife, and be a kick ass mom. We have the financial means to support them, and we have the love of family to share with them.

  That night, while I am tucking my little ones in, they are antsy. It was a whirlwind day for them, and I am trying to rock them and they won’t calm down. Addison comes in and offers to help. Both of us are exhausted, and we figure tag-teaming them will help. Nothing is calming them down. She asks me, “Do you want to start the crying out method?”

  I have no idea what she is talking about. “The what method?”

  She explains, “The last check-up they had, the nurse mentioned that we could do the crying out method. You put them down, and they are safe in their cribs and can’t get out. You walk out of the room and let them cry. They eventually go to sleep. It isn’t harmful to them; she assured me of that.”

  I look at her like she has lost her mind. “My babies are not going to lie in a dark room and cry when I am perfectly capable of holding them until they fall asleep. I don’t know what kind of fucked up doctor’s office you take them to, but we need to think about changing. I still believe that he didn’t need to put all those needles in them.”

  She just laughs. “That is why I love you.” We continue to rock them and try to calm them down. Finally, she gets up and walks out of the room with Shiloh. When she comes back, she has her phone and opens up the iPod in it. “Brielle always plays music, so maybe she has ruined them.” She plays Taylor Swift “Never Grow Up,” and those lyrics melt my heart. I want to freeze time right here. Them growing up, dating, driving, and going away to college, that all gives me heart palpitations. Shit, I don’t even want them to walk. As I look around this room, I realize my entire life is right here. I never doubted it, but the gravity of knowing I am their dad, Addison’s love, their protector, it doesn’t scare me like it used to. It swells my heart with pride. I am a lucky son of a bitch.

  When we make it to bed, after one o’clock, she hands me a box and says, “Happy Birthday.” I had forgotten about my birthday. Being the day after Christmas, it used to get overlooked a lot, not by Addison but by my own family. She has the most serene expression on her face, and I am excited to open it. I never thought on my twenty-ninth birthday I would be so settled and content in my life. I knew since I was sixteen that I would always have Addison, everything else is just an added bonus.

  I tear the bow off and lift the lid. I can see papers under the tissue, and it looks legal. What the hell? As I lift them out and read over them, I can’t stop the tears from falling, and I know I have the biggest grin on my face. She has given me a copy of the girls’ birth certificates, but with my name listed as father. She really trusts me with their hearts and hers. Never in a lifetime can this feeling being duplicated. I just stare at the papers then at her. I can’t speak. I am overcome with love and gratitude. She must sense it because she just crawls up in my lap and curls up into me. I press my lips to her head and hold her there.

  Chapter 29

  February 2018

  Addison

  I don’t know what is stopping me from picking a date. I don’t want a big wedding, just family. Our parents won’t be involved. Ever since Tyler met with his parents, he has pretty much cut them out. I don’t really have much to do with mine, but feel obligated to have them at the wedding. I am that person, always trying to create harmony. But with Brielle it will cause major issues. For me, I think she would be fine, but I don’t see Tyler or Colby being okay with it. Maybe we should elope.

  “Hey, Tyler. How do you feel about eloping? We could just go to Vegas and get married.”

  He doesn’t look happy. “Nope, I want to marry you in front of our children and the family we have left. Not happening, Lil’ Bit. What is the issue?”

  “I feel like I have to invite my parents, and I don’t want to put anyone out.”

  “You don’t need to invite them, Addy. I know you will always try to do what you think is right, even if it isn’t the right thing. I don’t want them there, just like I don’t want mine there.”

  Before she can answer, Brielle pipes up. She must have walked in when we weren’t looking. “Addison Parker, if you want your parents there when you get married, then you should have it. I don’t have to deal with them, as long as they don’t stay on the property, and Brent doesn’t come. Those are the only things I ask. I want you to have your wedding your way. Don’t worry about anyone else but you. Tyler, if she wants them there, shut up.”

  “Brielle, who is going to tell Colby?” I ask her.

  “Leave my husband to me. Remember that Victoria’s Secret trick you taught me? Well, it still works.” We share a private moment that Tyler does not understand. I remember telling her that when all else fails, put on some sexy lingerie, and you will get your way, every time.

  “I really don’t want Mom and Dad there, but I don’t want to deal with the repercussions of not inviting them,” I admit to her.

  “Then don’t invite them, Addison. This is your future, your family. You owe nobody but the man in front of you and the girls anything.”

  “I will think about it.”

  April 2018

  I have been thinking about a wedding date for months, and Tyler
is getting frustrated. So am I. I should say fuck it and just do my own thing, but with Cambree’s graduation next month, I don’t want issues there. My parents will probably come to that, and I don’t want them bitching the whole time about not being invited to my wedding. Brielle has shelled out so much money for lingerie trying to keep Colby calm about graduation next month, I can’t ask her to add this to it. Damn, I wonder how that girl is able to walk as it is.

  With the wedding decisions, graduation, and all the chaos of daily life, Shiloh and Cheyenne turn one next week. I can’t believe it. They started walking last week, and Tyler cried more than I did. Colby picked on him about being a pussy until Brielle pulled out the video of when Riley walked. When CJ walked he was proud, but CJ is a boy, and different rules apply. It will be the same way with dating. Fucking double standards.

  We are planning a huge party for Cambree’s graduation, and she leaves shortly after to get settled. I am so proud of that girl. She was my first baby, and she is all grown up now. When she came to me and asked me to go on the pill, I thought Tyler was going to lose his mind. Then she shocked me by telling me she wasn’t actually a virgin, but wouldn’t tell me who. I don’t really like the boy she is dating, and Dustin hates him. I can’t tell her that. As long as she is safe, then I have to let her make her own choices, and she is stubborn. The more I push, the more she pulls. Remind you of anybody?

  Dustin leaves for another soccer camp, and then he is spending the rest of summer with my parents. I know we have to let him develop his own relationship and opinions, but it still hurts Brielle. I know he is safe, but it sucks. I wish that boy would get his head out of his ass. Thing is, he and Brielle are so much alike, it is like watching her struggles all over again.

  Through all the changes we have been through this past year, the one that shocks me the most is Tyler and Mitch. They have grown to be friends . . . not acquaintances but actual friends. Colby, Mitch, Tyler, and sometimes Max, when he is home, work out together at our gym. Since we converted part of it to incorporate training and boxing, most of the cops in Centerville hang out there. Mitch and Kayleigh are still going strong, and if I didn’t witness the bro-mance I would think I was living in an alternate universe. I mean, the guy everyone assumed was my rebound guy and father to my kids, and the one man that I love beyond reason? Brielle and I had a long talk about why I let her believe Mitch was a romantic involvement when he wasn’t. I explained that they were her assumptions, and you know what happens when you ass-u-me. I admit, I didn’t tell her for selfish reasons . . . she would have called Tyler, and yes, maybe some of our problems could have been avoided, but I also think I would have wondered if he came back for our love, or out of obligation. It doesn’t matter much now. Through all the pain and resentment, we are where we always needed to be. But you should see the looks the six of us get around town. My best friend, Kayleigh, with my fake baby daddy, Mitch, and then Colby and Brielle, and Tyler and I all together. The townspeople probably think we are running some kind of polygamist camp or something.

  April 20, 2018

  My babies are one. We woke up and had a huge family breakfast, and then Tyler wanted to take them down to the lake. He wanted to go alone. He explained, since he wasn’t there when they came in the world, he wanted to be with them all day and have a moment with them. I couldn’t say no. I am lying around on the couch enjoying the peace and quiet. Then Cambree and Brielle bust in. Moment over.

  “Get up and get your ass in the shower.”

  “Is that how you greet people, Cambree? Who the hell raised you?” I ask her. When she just raises her eyebrows at me, I realize I raised her, and I walked right into that one. Damn, I will have to try harder with the twins. “Why do I have to get ready?”

  Brielle has a shit-eating grin, and I know this cannot be good. “Well, sister dear. You are getting married in a few hours. Tyler planned this, so don’t get mad. He knows you have struggled, so we made the decision for you. Not really, he is giving you an out, no hard feelings. But he wanted to do this for you. He brought me all your magazines with dresses you had marked, and Cambree and I got three of them for you to choose. He has made all other arrangements. He just wants to be your husband.”

  Damn that boy. He still makes me swoon. I am apprehensive. Can I do this today? Hell yes I can. I don’t owe anyone anything. This is my life, my wedding, and my family. Screw everyone else. “Getting in the shower,” I tell them as I race upstairs.

  When I get out of the shower, Cambree and Brielle are waiting with dresses. I tend to stay with simple, fitted dresses because of my petite size (or fun-size as Colby calls it). All three choices were exactly what I had picked. I try them all on, and when I get to the third, I know this is my dress. It is a simple strapless gown that fits across my top and then barely flares out to a fuller bottom. It accentuates my curves and has just enough frills for me to be girly. It is an understated princess dress. Along the bottom there are dark blue inlays, and I love that contrast. I want my hair up since the dress is strapless. When Brielle hands me my grandmother’s pearls, I about lose it. She didn’t wear them for her own wedding and always said they were for me. I notice she added a locket to it. I open it, and inside is a picture of my grandfather. Right here, I have the only parents I need with me. I just mouth, “thank you,” to her. She shoots me a wink and tells me she is heading out to make sure everything is ready and in place.

  I stop her before she leaves. “Brielle, will you sing my wedding song?”

  “Already taken care of,” she replies. “You deserve this, and he loves you. I do declare, we got the good ones, sister.” She walks out laughing at herself.

  I ask Cambree to give me a few minutes to myself. I am feeling a bit nostalgic. I remember the first day I saw him in the hallway, our first kiss, our first dance, and I realize all our firsts were together. Through the heartache, pain, and love. He has always been my constant. I realize I got my first love, twice. Maybe we needed the time apart, truly apart, to find our way back. We fell in love so young, we were just kids. I am not saying that doesn’t work for some, but for us, we needed to experience life apart to bring us back together. I remember my grandmother telling me he was my lobster. I look up and tell her, “You were right, as usual. He is my lobster.” I stand up, ready to get married to my one and only true love.

  Chapter 30

  Mitch

  I couldn’t believe it. When I got the call about the wedding from Tyler, I could not have been happier for them. Finally after all this time, they are in the one place they truly deserve. Looks like everything is working out, minus Cambree going to UGA. The whole reason we set Max up at UT was to be there for her, then that shit the bed. We need to regroup, but we have a bit of time. Nothing else has happened that has been worrisome right now, so we are finally enjoying our life.

  And I am enjoying Kayleigh. I can say with certainty that she is my soul mate. I met her almost two years ago when she came to Daytona with Addison, and I was smitten then, but there was too much other stuff to deal with. When Tyler came back, I started pursuing her, and we have been exclusive since October.

  Every time I look at her I feel like I can’t breathe. She is stunningly beautiful with her fiery red hair and emerald eyes. We are quite the contrast with my midnight black hair and green eyes. The eyes are the one characteristic I shared with Hope. Kayleigh is the first girl in a while I have been able to share Hope’s memories with. I told her the whole story . . . about our biological dad, what happened to Hope while searching for him, and what led to her taking her own life. I had to leave out some details because until I can wrap this up, I don’t want her to keep secrets from her best friend.

  I introduced her to Ma, and she loves her. I want to marry her and have babies; we aren’t getting any younger. She is almost twenty-eight, and I just turned twenty-nine. I am almost six months older than Addison. I tell her every day how much I love her and am committed to her, but I can tell she knows something is off. Ma told me to te
ll her the truth, and I will, maybe tonight.

  Seeing her standing at the altar next to Brielle with Addison makes me want to drop to my knees and beg her to marry me. She must feel me staring at her because she turns to me and winks. I blow her a kiss, and she acts like she catches it and puts it on her lips. Every time I feel like I couldn’t love her more, I realize I do.

  Kayleigh

  Mitch is truly my knight in shining armor. Not only is he breathtakingly handsome, but he loves me. But most of all, he loves my best friend and her entire family, and it is amazing. I just don’t know what is holding him back from the next step in our relationship. I see it in his eyes, and he talks about me being his wife daily, but for God’s sake, put a ring on it already.

  He has shared so much with me. He has told me about his mother, his twin sister’s memory, and his brother, but I can tell there is something else. And if I know my man, until he has fixed it, he won’t take the next step. I just wish he could trust me, because I am about to rock his world tonight when I tell him I am pregnant.

  Chapter 31

  Tyler

  When Brielle told me Addison was all for this, I was over the moon excited. Yes, I realize I just sounded like a pussy, but I don’t care. Seeing my woman walk down the aisle and professing our love in front of our friends and loved ones, that is all that matters. I decided on today because it marks one year that our family started. Whether we were a unit then or not, it started with the birth of our girls. Plus, I can’t forget our anniversary this way. I know, dick move.